Police make arrest in $40,000 Halton romance scam

Police make arrest in Halton romance scam

A 30-year-old Hamilton man is facing multiple charges after two women were allegedly defrauded through an Internet romance scam.

A woman from Halton Region and one from Toronto, one in her early 30s and one in her mid-50s, entered into what they believed were trusting relationships with a man they met online, police said.

A profile was set up on a popular dating site under the name Alex Hermain, who claimed to be a 38-year-old Burlington man.

Det. Larry Burns of the Halton Regional Police Fraud Unit said an investigation so far has determined that Alex Hermain does not exist.

However, each woman met in person with a man purporting to be Hermain at least once within the past year, said Burns.

Police allege a dating relationship turned into a scam. The single women told police they had agreed to let their new boyfriend borrow money but expected to be paid back.

Burns says more than $40,000 was taken from the women with one giving significantly more than the other. None of it has been paid back, he said.

A man was arrested this morning.

Zeeshan Qureshi, 30, of Hamilton has been charged with fraud over $5,000, fraud under $5,000 and possession of proceeds of crime.

Due to the nature of dating sites it is unknown if the alleged scam was carried out using other aliases and police are appealing to the public for anyone that may have had contact with the accused to come forward.

Qureshi has a March 26 court date in Milton.

Anyone with information on this can contact Det. Larry Burns of the Regional Fraud Unit at 905-634-1831, ext. 8738, or Crime Stoppers of Halton at 1 800-222-8477 (TIPS) or through the Web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by texting Tip201 with your message to 274637 (crimes).